FADED MEMORIES
by PRACHI
Summary: WHEN HE WANTED HER, SHE HATED HIM. AND NOW WHEN SHE WANTS HIM, HE CANNOT GIVE HIMSELF TO HER. THAT'S DAMON AND ELENA FOR YOU. HOW WILL THESE TWO FIND THEMSELVES WITH EACH OTHER AGAIN? ONLY TIME CAN TELL...
1. Shattered

**AN: OKAY, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE TRIED MY HANDS AT FICTION WRITING. I LOVE DAMON SALVATORE SO I COULDN'T LET THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS AWAY. **

**SO PLEASE GO EASY ON ME GUYS AND ENJOY THE STORY...**

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"ELENA, LISTEN TO ME. PLEASE LISTEN TO ME. I DIDN'T MEAN FOR IT TO HAPPEN." HE WAS TRYING TO TALK TO HER BUT SHE KEPT ON WALKING WITHOUT GIVING HIM A SECOND GLANCE. HER EYES ALL RED AND FULL OF TEARS.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME. YOU PROPOSED TO ME YESTERDAY AND TODAY I FIND YOU DRY HUMPING YOUR GIRLFRIEND IN OUR BEDROOM. AND NOW YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY THAT YOU DIDN'T MEAN FOR IT TO HAPPEN?"

WHEN SHE DIDN'T STOP WALKING, DAMON GRABBED HER ARM ROUGHLY AND PULLED HER BACK. SHE COLLIDED INTO HIS ARMS JUST LIKE ALWAYS.

"LISTEN TO ME ELENA GILBERT, THAT WOMAN IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND. LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXPLANATION PLEASE." HE BEGGED WITH HIS SILVER-BLUE EYES AND JUST LIKE THAT, ELENA'S DETERMINATION DISAPPEARED.

"YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES YOU JERK, AND DO NOT TOUCH ME AT ALL." DAMON NODDED VIGOURSLY. 5 MINUTES WAS ALL THAT HE NEEDED.

THEY BOTH SAT DOWN ON A BENCH.

"WHEN I MET YOU 5 MONTHS AGO IN ALARIC'S WEDDING, STEFAN AND I MADE A BET THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME IN 5 MONTHS. THE BET INCLUDED A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL TOO."

HE SAW ELENA CLAMP HER MOUTH SHUT AND SOBBING HORRIBLY.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME? I LOVED YOU LIKE CRAZY, I WAS READY TO LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND AND START MY LIFE WITH YOU BUT YOU RUINED EVERYTHING. I GAVE YOU MY HEART AND YOU STOMPED ON IT LIKE IT WAS A PLASTIC TOY."

DAMON KEPT ON LOOKING AT THE FLOOR. HE COULDN'T DARE TO LIFT HIS EYES TO MEET HERS.

"SO NOW THAT YOU HAVE WON THE BET, WHAT PRIZE DID YOU WIN? THAT BLOND GIRL THAT YOU WERE MAKING OUT WITH?" SHE SPAT OUT IN DISGUST.

AT THAT TIME HE LOOKED AT HER WITH HIS EYES WIDENED.

"NO, NOT AT ALL. SHE WAS….SHE WAS SOMEONE THAT I HAD MET DURING THE WEDDING AND I WASN'T SERIOUS AT THAT TIME ABOUT YOU AND SHE KNEW ABOUT THE BET TOO. STEFAN MUST HAVE TOLD HER ABOUT THE PROPOSAL SO SHE CAME TO MEET ME TODAY AND FLUNG HERSELF ON ME. I TRIED TO RESIST HER, I REALLY DID."

ELENA RAISED HER HANDS TO STOP HIM AND HE WISELY FOLLOWED IT.

"DO YOU EVEN LOVE ME OR WAS IT ALL JUST SEX FOR YOU?" SHE ASKED AGAIN, HER VOICE SHAKING WITH VULNERABILITY.

HE DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS LOVE OR SOMETHING BUT HE DID FEEL SOMETHING FOR HER. IT WAS A SORT OF FEELING THAT YOU CAN'T GIVE A NAME TO. IN 23 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, HE HAD NEVER EXPERIANCED LOVE SO WHEN ELENA ASKED HIM THAT QUESTION HE HAD ONLY ONE ANSWER FOR IT.

"IT WAS NEVER ABOUT SEX BUT IT WAS ALSO NEVER ABOUT LOVE TOO." AND HE WAS MET WITH A BIG SLAP. A SLAP THAT HE FELT HE TOTALLY DESERVED.

"I HATE YOU A LOT AND I WISH THAT I HAD NEVER EVER MET YOU. BUT EVEN AFTER YOUR CONFESSION, I STILL LOVE YOU. YOU HAVE RUINED ME DAMON SLAVATORE AND FOR THAT I WISH YOU SUFFER JUST LIKE IAM SUFFERING RIGHT NOW. DON'T EVER SHOW ME YOUR FACE AGAIN."

SHE GOT UP AGAIN AND THIS TIME, DAMON DIDN'T STOP HER.

WHAT WOULD HE HAVE SAID ANYWAYS? HE WAS FEELING GUILTY, HE WAS FEELING HORRIBLE BUT OTHER THAN THAT, HE WAS FEELING COLD AND EMPTY TOO.

HE SLOWLY RETRACED HIS STEPS BACK TO THEIR APARTMENT. OR NOW, HIS APARTMENT.

BETS WERE SOMETHING, THAT HE AND HIS BROTHER MADE REGULARLY. NOT NECESSARILY ON GIRLS BUT SOMETIMES THAT TOO.

AS A MULTI BILLIONAIR CEO OF A SUCCESFUL COMPANY, BUYING THINGS BECAME TOO EASY. SO THEY USED TO MAKE BETS SO THAT THEY COULD SAVOR WINNING THINGS.

5 MONTHS AGO WHEN HE HAD MET ELENA GILBERT AT HIS BEST FRIEND ALARIC'S WEDDING, HE WASN'T ABLE TO RESIST THE OFFER. IT WASN'T THE BET THAT LURED HIM BUT THE OBJECT ITSELF. IT WAS ELENA AND THE PROSPECT OF SPENDING TIME WITH HER THAT HAD LURED HIM. HE WANTED TO WIN THAT BET, HE WANTED HER TO FALL HOPLESSLY AND MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM, HE WANTED TO TASTE HER EXQUISITE BODY BADLY, HE WANTED TO SEE A RING THAT SCREAMED 'MINE' AROUND HER FINGERS BADLY.

AND TODAY, WHEN HE HAD FINALLY ACHIEVED HIS GOALS, IT WAS ALL TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM BADLY. HE DID FEEL SOMETHING FOR ELENA AND HE ALSO KNEW THAT HE WOULD HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH HER BUT BEFORE HE COULD HAVE A CHANCE, IT WAS ALL BURSTED TO HELL.

HE FELL ON THE BED THAT HE SHARED WITH THAT WOMAN. THE WOMAN THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS 23 YEARS HAD MADE HIS COLD HEART WARM, HAD GIVEN HIM A REASON TO COME HOME, HAD MADE HIM SMILE GENUIENLY, HAD LOVED HIM LIKE CRAZY.

HE HELD HER PICTURE AND SOBBED UNCONTROLLABLY FOR THAT WOMAN THAT HE WAS NOW SURE THAT HE LOVED BACK CRAZILY.

AROUND MIDNIGHT, DAMON GOT A PHONE CALL AND WHAT HE HEARD WAS ENOUGH TO GIVE HIM A HEART ATTACK.

"DAMON." ALARIC SPOKE FRANTICALLY. "ELENA'S BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. COME TO THE HOSPITAL IMMEDIATELY."

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**SO WHAT DID YOU THINK? WAS IT TRASH OR DID IT DO OKAY? LET YOUR REVIEWS SPEAK.**


	2. Please believe me!

**AN: I AM POSTING THIS CHAPTER FROM A CYBER CAFE BECAUSE I COULDN'T WAIT ANYMORE. HOPEFULLY MY LAPTOP WILL RECOVER IN ANOTHER 2 DAYS. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT.**

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DAMON WAS SHIVERING THE WHOLE TIME. NOT BECAUSE OF JANUARY NIGHT COLD BUT BECAUSE OF THE COLDNESS HE WAS FEELING AFTER HEARING THE NEWS THAT HIS ELENA WAS IN HOSPITAL.

HIS HEART WAS BEATING A MILLION TIMES PER SECOND. AS SOON AS HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR, HE RAN TOWARDS THE HOSPITAL, ALMOST KNOCKING SEVERAL PEOPLE DOWN.

"ELENA, ELENA GILBERT. WHERE IS SHE?" HE ASKED AS SOON AS HE REACHED THE RECEPTION.

"WHO ARE YOU SIR?" THE RECEPTIONIST ASKED.

DAMON WAS IN NO MOOD OF PLAYING 'WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE.'

"IAM HER FIANCE. NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS." HE YELLED.

"SECOND FLOOR, ROOM 412." THE NURSE REPLIED PROMPTLY WITHOUT WASTING ANOTHER SECOND.

DAMON CALMED HIS HEART A BIT. LAST THING HE WANTED WAS TO GET ADMITTED IN THE HOSPITAL DUE TO HEART ATTACK. HE RAN TOWARDS HIS DESTINATION AND SAW JEREMY, BONNIE, CAROLINE, JENNA AND ALARIC PACING THE CORRIDOR AT SOME DISTANCE.

"BONNIE HOW IS SHE?" HE ASKED WITH A QUIVERING VOICE, TEARS STINGING HIS EYES.

BUT SHE DIDN'T ANSWER. HE GLANCED AT OTHERS IN THE ROOM BUT EXCEPT FOR ALARIC, NONE OF THEM EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED HIM.

"WILL SOMEONE TELL ME HOW SHE IS?" HE SHOUTED, NOT CARING IF HE WAS IN A FUCKING HOSPITAL.

"ARE YOU SURE YOU CARE?" CAROLINE ASKED WITH VENOM DRIPPING FROM HER VOICE.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT BLONDIE?" DAMON KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT BUT DECIDED TO PLAY DUMB BECAUSE HE WANTED TO KNOW ELENA'S CONDITION.

SUDDENLY, JEREMY TURNED AROUND AND PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE.

"YOU MORON. YOU BROKE MY SISTER'S HEART AND NOW YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SHOW UP HERE AND ASK US HOW SHE IS DOING? SHE IS HERE BECAUSE OF YOU. SHE TOLD ME EVERYTHING, ABOUT YOUR FUCKING BET, ABOUT THAT BIMBO. EVERY FUCKING THING." HE YELLED.

DAMON LET JEREMY PUNCH HIM BECAUSE HE KNEW HE ABSOLUTELY DESERVED IT. SO HE KEPT STANDING THERE LIKE A PUNCHING BAG LETTING ELENA'S BROTHER TAKE OUT HIS FRUSTRATION ON HIM.

AFTER A FEW SECONDS, ALARIC DECIDED TO INTERVENE AND DRAGGED A KICKING AND HOWLING JEREMY AWAY FROM HIM.

"GO AWAY FROM HERE DAMON, WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE." JENNA SOBBED.

"PLEASE JENNA, LET ME…."

"WHO CALLED YOU HERE ANYWAYS?"

BUT BEFORE ANYONE COULD SAY ANOTHER WORD, THE DOORS OF THE OT OPENED AND A DOCTOR WALKED OUT.

"IAM MEREDITH FELL. I OPERATED ON YOUR SISTER." SHE GAVE A CHARMING SMILE BUT NONE OF THEM WERE IN A MOOD FOR ANY SORT OF INTRODUCTIONS.

"DOC, HOW IS MY SISTER?" JEREMY WIPED HIS EYES AND ASKED.

"PHYSICALLY SHE IS FINE. HER RIGHT ARM IS BROKEN AND SHE HAS A FEW STICHES HERE AND THERE. THERE WAS A SLIGHT TEARING RIGHT LEG BUT WE FIXED IT. BUT WE MIGHT HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM AT OUR HANDS."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY MAJOR PROBLEM?" DAMON GROWLED AT HER WHEN SHE TOOK A DRAMATIC PAUSE.

"DURING THE ACCIDENT, HER HEAD MUST HAVE COLLIDED WITH SOMETHING HARD BECAUSE OF WHICH THE POSTERIOR LOBE OF HER BRAIN HAS SUFFERED SOME MAJOR DAMAGE. THANKFULLY, THERE WAS NO INTERNAL BLEEDING BUT STILL A DAMAGE WAS DONE. WHEN SHE WAKES UP, THERE IS A LARGE CHANCE THAT SHE WON'T REMEMBER HERSELF NOR ANYONE OF YOU."

SILENCE COVERED THE ROOM AT ONCE. AND WITHIN A FRACTION OF SECOND, ALL OF THEM SAW JEREMY FALLING ON THE FLOOR LIKE A CORPSE.

"YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIX IT RIGHT?" DAMON ASKED WITH A BIT OF HOPE FLARING IN HIS VOICE.

"WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE." THE DOCTOR REPLIED.

DAMON'S EYES TURNED RED, BOTH WITH GRIEF AND ANGER.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YOU CAN'T SAY FOR SURE? YOU ARE A FUCKING DOCTOR YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS." HE ROARED.

THE DOCTOR FLINCHED BACK A BIT.

"WE WILL TRY TO DO OUR BEST." THE DOCTOR SAID I A CONSOLING VOICE BUT AMON DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR IT.

"NO YOU WON'T TRY TO DO YOUR BEST, YOU WILL DO YOUR BEST. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM DAMON SALVATORE. I WILL BUY THIS STUPID HOSPITAL AND THEN THE FIRST THING I WILL DO IS FIRE YOUR ASS. IN ELENA'S CASE, THERE SHOULD BE NO TRYING. SHE HAS TO GET BETTER. SHE CAN'T LOOSE HER MEMORY ALRIGHT?" DAMON'S VOICE BROKE AT THE END AND HE STARTED CRYING. ALARIC CAME FORWARD TO SUPPORT HIM.

"SORRY FOR THAT DOCTOR. IAM SURE YOU ARE DOING EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO MAKE HER WELL. DAMON IS JUST SUFFERING A LOT RIGHT NOW, WE ALL ARE SUFFERING RIGHT NOW. PLEASE FORGIVE HIM." ALARIC TRIED TO MAKE PEACE.

"I UNDERSTAND SIR BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE JUST DOCTORS, NOT GOD. WHATEVER HAPPENS TO ELENA TOMORROW WILL BE HIS WISHES." SHE GAVE A LITTLE NOD OF REASSURANCE AND WENT ON HER WAY.

DAMON FREED HIMSELF FROM ALARIC'S ARM AND WALKED TOWARDS JEREMY. HE WAS STILL ON THE FLOOR SO DAMON SAT BESIDE HIM IN SPITE OF BONNIE GIVING HIM STINK EYES.

"SHE IS MY ONLY FAMILY LEFT AND NOW BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE WON'T EVEN REMEMBER ME. YOU KNOW TODAY MORNING WHEN SHE CAME TO MEET ME, SHE WAS REALLY HAPPY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS, I HAD SEEN HER SO HAPPY BECAUSE YOU HAD PROPOSED TO HER. SHE WAS FLASHING THAT BIG ROCK TO EVERYBODY, ALMOST SHOVING IT TO OUR FACES." JEREMY GAVE A SAD CHUCKLE.

"SHE WAS GUSHING ABOUT YOU THE WHOLE TIME AND ABOUT HER PLANS TO MOVE TO NEW YORK WITH YOU. BUT THEN AT NIGHT, I GOT A CALL FROM HER. SHE WAS REALLY DRUNK AND SHE TOLD ME ABOUT ALL YOUR DEEDS. AT THAT TIME, I WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS. I TRIED STOPPING HER AND TOLD HER TO WAIT FOR ME. BUT YOU KNOW HOW STUBBORN SHE IS RIGHT? SHE HAD TO DEFY ME, SHE HAD TO GET IN THE CAR. THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU. BECAUSE OF YOU, MY SISTER WON'T REMEMBER ABOUT ME WHEN SHE WAKES UP, SHE WON'T REMEMBER HER LIFE, SHE WON'T REMEMBER HER PARENTS, SHE WON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING."

JEREMY WAS SHOUTING AND DAMON WAS SITTING THERE, BURNING IN HIS SILENT TEARS.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL HER DAMON? IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO EASY FOR ME TO JUST BURY HER, MOURN HER AND THEN GET ON WITH MY LIFE. AND NOW, I HAVE TO LIVE WITH HER AND SHE WOULD TREAT ME LIKE A STRANGER. SHE WON'T REMEMBER ME, SHE WON'T TRUST ME, SHE WON'T…." AND THEN HIS ANGER DISSIPATED TO CRIES.

BONNIE RUSHED TOWARDS HIM AND TOOK HIM IN HER ARMS.

"JERE PLEASE LISTEN TO ME." DAMON CRIED. "I ACCEPT THAT THE BET THAT I HAD MADE AT THE BEGINNING WAS WRONG, HELL I SHOULD HAVE COME CLEAN ABOUT IT BUT I LOVE YOUR SISTER. I LOVE HER A LOT AND IF THERE WAS A WAY I COULD SWITCH PLACES WITH HER I WOULD HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT A BLINK. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, PLEASE."

JEREMY DIDN'T ANSWER. HE WAS TOO MUCH IN GRIEF TO ANSWER ANYTHING SANE RIGHT NOW.

"PLEASE LEAVE DAMON. DON'T BE IN FRONT OF HIM RIGHT NOW. JUST LEAVE." BONNIE PLEADED.

DAMON GOT DEJECTED UP AND DRAGGED HIS BODY TOWARDS THE ROOM IN WHICH ELENA WAS RESTING.

THROUGH A SMALL WINDOW HE COULD SEE THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, LOOKING VERY STILL. FEAR STARTED CREEPING IN HIS BODY AGAIN.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO HIM ELENA. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO HIM. I DESERVE ALL YOUR HATRED BUT JEREMY DOESN'T. PLEASE DON'T LOOSE YOUR MEMORIES." HE CLUTCHED THE WINDOW BARS AND STARTED CRYING AGAINST IT.

SUDDENLY, HE FELT SOMEONE STANDING BEHIND HIM.

"IF YOU WANT TO PUNCH ME, THEN GO AHEAD. I WON'T STOP YOU AT ALL." HE SAID.

"I WON'T PUNCH YOU, YOU ALREADY LOOK LIKE SHIT." ALARIC HELPED HIM UP AND CARRIED HIM TO THE NEAREST BENCH.

"ALARIC I LOVE HER. PLEASE BELIEVE ME BUDDY." DAMON CRIED.

"I DO DAMON. I DO BELIEVE YOU. BUT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MESSED UP PRETTY BAD. YOU SHOULD HAVE COME CLEAN."

"ALARIC, I WILL GIVE EVERYTHING I OWN, EVERY DIME AND CENT TO BE WITH HER, TO HAVE HER IN MY LIFE, TO LOVE HER AGAIN. I CAN LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE ELENA HATES ME BUT NOT IN A WORLD WHERE SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER ME AT ALL. YOU KNOW WHILE LEAVING SHE HAD SAID THAT SHE WISHED SHE HAD NEVER MET ME. I DON'T WANT THAT WISH TO COME TRUE. PLEASE BRING HER BACK TO ME. PLEASE ALARIC, PLEASE BRING HER BACK TO ME. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HER. LET HER HATE ME, LET HER HIT ME BUT PLEASE DON'T LET HER FORGET ME. PLEASE."

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME, ALARIC WAS SEEING DAMON SALVATORE CRYING. THE 23 YEAR OLD YOUNGEST MULTI-BILLIONAIR CEO OF ONE OF THE LARGEST INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD WAS NOW BEGGING FOR ONE THING THAT HIS MONEY COULDN'T BUY. THE ONE THING THAT HE COULDN'T GIVE TO HIM. THE ONE THING THAT HELD HIS BEST FRIEND'S HEART.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, ALARIC FELT REALLY CRIPPLED .

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**SO, HOW DID YOU FIND IT? REVIEW PLEASE...**


	3. Mr ADONIS

**AN: THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS AND SORRY FOR UPDATING LATE. STUPID EXAMS.**

**SO, HERE'S THE NEW CHAPTER AND I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT...**

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Elena slowly opened her eyes but all that she could see was white. The brightness was hurting her eyes so she closed them quickly. After a few seconds, she heard someone open a door and walk towards her.

Elena somehow forcibly opened her eyes. She looked up and saw a woman wearing a white coat, checking her charts.

"Where am I?" Her voice croaked.

The doctor looked up. Shock was evident in her eyes but that shock was soon replaced by relief. She rushed towards her side and started checking her heartbeat, her eyes, and her plastered left arm and performed every standard procedure.

"Can you tell me your name?" The doctor finally asked, looking very hopeful.

Elena tried to tell her but to her horror, nothing came out. The doctor was asking her the most basic question but she couldn't even answer it. The question wasn't tricky at all. The only thing that the doctor had asked was her name and still Elena felt like a nursery student who didn't know what 4x4 was.

"My…..my name?" Elena blabbered. She felt tears pouring from her eyes.

The doctor's gave her a touch of sympathy.

"Elena Gilbert. Your name is Elena Gilbert. You are 21 years old and studying literature in Columbia University." The woman said.

Elena felt like her mind was in overdrive, as though in any second it would burst. A sharp pain seared through her head. She clutched it with her right hand gave a shrill cry. The doctor immediately passed her a glass of water and some pills. With some difficulty, Elena swallowed them.

The doctor dragged a chair near her bed and took her unplastered, right hand in hers.

"I am Meredith Fell, your doctor. Now listen to me Elena. Yesterday night, you were in an accident. Except for a broken arm, a few stitches and a not so nasty tear, you are physically fine. But during the accident, you hit your head pretty hard. Because of it, you have lost your memories."

Elena sat there like a statue, unable to say anything. She didn't even know how to respond.

_How do you respond in such cases? _ She thought.

"Your family is waiting outside. Do you want to meet them?" The doctor asked slowly as though she was a child.

_ Family?_

Elena didn't even know what to say. Does she want to meet them? What will they do once they find out that she has lost her memories? Will they abandon her? Will they accept her? Will they get offended that she doesn't recognize them?

Being an experienced doctor, Meredith could feel what she was thinking. In such cases, the patients usually need security and reassurance. And Elena was no different. So Meredith did what she had to do. She reassured her.

"Your family knows about your condition. And I must say that they are very supportive. They haven't left this place since you got admitted here. They love you a lot Elena. Now, do you want to meet them?"

This time Elena gave a tight nod.

Outside of the room, Damon Salvatore was slowly losing his mind. The doctor had gone inside for the past 30 minutes and she still hadn't come out.

He looked around and saw Bonnie and Jeremy sitting side by side, holding hands and looking really tired. Jenna was sitting at some distance with her head on Alaric's shoulders and Caroline was standing at one of the room, sipping on her morning coffee.

They were all waiting for the doctor to come out but that woman was taking her own sweet time. After another 2 minutes of pacing, he decided to go inside himself, consequences be damned.

As soon as he took a step towards the room, Meredith finally emerged. Everybody rushed towards her.

"How is she? Is she awake?" Damon asked. His heart had almost reached his mouth due to anticipation.

The doctor gave a sigh which, in the eyes of Damon, was a bad sign.

"She is awake but as I had suspected, she doesn't have her memories."

All the women in the room started crying and sobbing and Jeremy and Alaric went on to console them. But Damon was having none of it. He had cried enough of a life time.

Damon wanted to be strong for her and at that instant, he was trying really hard not to break down.

_This is all my fault._ He thought. _If I had told her the truth from the beginning, none of this would have happened. I will not let Elena suffer like that. I will do everything in my power to make everything alright. _

And at that instant, Damon Salvatore shut off every damn emotion that he had in him except for guilt. The guilt would remind him what horror he had done, the guilt would remind him how he had ruined Elena's life, how he had ruined her family's life, how he had ruined his own life.

"How long will it be before she remembers everything?" He enquired in his business voice to the doctor who was now giving him curious eyes.

"I can't say that Mr. Salvatore. I am not God. But I do know one thing. Time is a great healer. So please don't get distress. Give her time, give yourself time. Let her cope with it in her own way. Don't try to shove the memories in her, it will cause some serious damage to her brain. Be patient and gentle with her."

When Damon sat down on the bench near him, Meredith joined him.

"Excuse me for my audacity Mr. Salvatore, but what's your relation with Ms. Gilbert?"

Damon gave a dark chuckle.

"I am the person because of which she is in this state." He heard Meredith's sharp intake of breath.

"Were you the one with which Elena's car collided?" she whispered.

"No, but then she had got into that damn car because of me. She is my fiancée doctor. I did some serious shit which is unforgivable. She learnt about it and then we broke into a major fight. I will never forgive myself." His voice cracked up but Damon composed himself.

_No more tears. Stay strong for her._ He reminded himself.

Meredith had heard about Damon Salvatore, the biggest industrialist and also the biggest womanizer. But right now, he looked broken. The shine, the power and the arrogance that she would see in his eyes during TV interviews were now all gone. Sitting beside her was a man who now looked broken.

When Alaric returned, he saw Damon looking like a man on mission whose only objective was to serve Elena. His eyes looked blank and Alaric understood that Damon had turned off all his emotions and right now was only interested in doing things right. And he knew that Damon with no emotions was a bad and lethal combination.

At this juncture, Alaric only wished that things would get okay and his niece and his best friend would find happiness. Happiness that they deserved, happiness that was snatched from them.

Meredith got up but not before giving Damon a tiny reassuring squeeze on his hand.

"Elena would like to meet you guys. Are you ready?" They all gave a tiny nod.

"I am saying this again do not try to force the memories in her. If she doesn't remember then it's okay. I have already given her basic information about herself like her name and age and what she is studying. All you guys have to do is introduce yourself. Are we clear?" They nodded again.

The doctor turned towards the room and walked inside.

"Let's do this." Jeremy said before going inside.

Inside the room, Elena saw her doctor entering followed by 5 people.

There was a brown haired man, in his mid twenties perhaps, looking really terrified. There was a tanned woman leaning on his arms.

_I guess they are a couple._ She thought.

Then came a blonde woman, wearing expensive clothes and looking like a human Barbie. Her hair was perfectly curled, her make-up was at its exact spot. Everything was…..too perfect.

_Didn't the doctor say that they all stayed at the hospital all the time? How is she looking like a freaking super model then? _ Elena couldn't believe she was thinking like this.

At last there was a sandy haired man with a brown haired woman in his arms. Both the man and the woman were in their early thirties. The woman's eyes were all puffy and red. In fact, everybody's eyes were all puffy and red.

_Oh, they are definitely husband and wife. _She thought noticing a ring on each of their fingers.

But all brain activity stopped when she saw a black raven haired man enter the room. It was like her breathing had got stuck in her trachea. The man looked as though he had just stepped out of one of those ancient museums where they keep the paintings of all those handsome Greek gods. The only difference was that he looked better than any Greek god.

His eyes were so blue, so magnetic and so tragic that she could feel her soul tearing apart just to be near him. His black locks were all messed up and some of them were falling on his forehead and she had a sudden urge to run her fingers through them.

His lean, muscular body was looking really tired and all she wanted to do was invite him to share her bed with him and sing till he fell asleep.

His pale skin was looking really dull and all she wanted to do was kiss every inch of it and make it all better. Elena couldn't believe that she was getting aroused with just his presence in the room.

_Please let him not be that blonde's boyfriend, please let him not be that blonde's boyfriend…_ she chanted to herself.

"I am Jeremy Gilbert, your brother." The brown haired man initiated the conversation.

She forcibly removed her eyes from the best view of her life and gave her brother a small smile. Then the brown haired woman reached forward and grabbed her hand.

"I am your aunt, Jenna Saltzman. Your mother's sister." The woman said with tears falling from there eyes.

"I am Alaric Saltzman, your uncle." The sandy haired man introduced himself.

The blonde girl stepped forward and gave her a bone crushing hug which thankfully didn't crush her bones.

"I am Caroline Forbes and this is Bonnie Bennet. We are your best friends." The other tanned girl was still crying and leaning on her brother.

Not to be rude or anything but all Elena wanted was to hear the Greek god's voice. But he didn't seem to be in a mood to introduce himself. So she decided to take the matters in her own hand.

"Who are you?" She asked softly.

"A jackass perhaps?" She heard Caroline muttering.

_Thank God they are not girlfriend and boyfriend. But why is she calling him a jackass? Bad history? _

"I am Damon, Damon Salvatore. I am Alaric's best friend. I was in town when I heard about the accident. So I came today to meet you. I am really sorry that all this happened to you." He spoke in his velvet voice and Elena felt like taping it and listening to it for the rest of her life.

But when she looked around, she could see everyone giving him death glares. But the doctor and her uncle were sporting a surprised look.

_Something fishy is going on. This man is definitely lying. _She thought.

When she turned her eyes back towards Mr. Adonis, she found him staring at her intently. Like as though he was worshipping her with his eyes alone, like he was a blind man looking at the sun for the first time.

She quickly turned her eyes towards her lap. She could feel the blush creeping onto her body and could hear her heartbeat increasing. In fact, everybody could hear it increasing because it was connected to the heartbeat monitor.

Alaric gave a fake loud cough and Elena's blush increased. She again gave a small glance at Damon but the warmth in his eyes was now gone. He now looked as though he didn't care. His crystal blue eyes had turned all icy.

_Who is he? _The question was eating her already derailed mind.

After a few seconds of awkward pause, Mr. Adonis excused himself and left the room. She could see that Alaric had wanted to follow him but her aunt Jenna held him in place.

_Well that explains who wears pants in their relationship. I wonder if my parents are like that too. Speaking of parents, I don't see mine. _

"Where are mom and dad?" She asked innocently.

Everybody in the room tensed. After another 10 seconds of awkward pause, her brother finally decided to speak.

"Elena, our parents died in an accident when you were just 15." He said looking really sad.

Elena couldn't even imagine how much stress and tension was carrying. But what she did know was that for his age, he wasn't supposed to carry that much.

She caught his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I am sorry. But we will get through this." She said and his eyes lit up.

"I know this is really hard for you guys and I am sorry that because of me you all are suffering. Thank you for not leaving me." She gave a sad smile.

"Elena how can you even think that? You are my niece, almost like my own daughter and a mother never abandons her daughter." Jenna gave her a soft, careful hug. Slowly, everyone joined them except for her dark, raven haired man. She really wished he was here but for some reason he was keeping his distance. Both physically and emotionally.

"Alright, time's up people. Give Elena time to rest. Her hand and cuts are still healing but everything else is fine. We will be able to discharge her day after tomorrow." The doctor smiled.

They all said their good byes and slowly left the room. The day was really overwhelming and she could see that her family was really nice. But she couldn't help it when her thoughts involuntarily drove towards her raven haired, blue eyed stranger. And she couldn't help but notice a small goofy grin that formed on her face whenever she thought about him. From her side, there was an undeniable attraction. Like she knew him from before, like he possessed her or something.

_I must find out about him a bit more. _That was her last thought before she let sleep engulf her.

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**SO, HOW WAS THE CHAPTER? PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW. THANK YOU!**


	4. I Will Take Her

**AN: SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE GUYS AND IF ANYONE OUT THERE TAKES CONTRACT TO KILL THE PROFESSORS THEN PLEASE TELL ME BECAUSE I AM DESPERATE TO KILL MINE.**

**SO, HERE IS THE CHAPTER. PLEASE GUYS, PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE STORY. **

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After their good byes, Alaric stormed out of the room with his eyes all red due anger. He looked around and saw Damon looking out through one of the windows.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" Alaric grabbed Damon's shoulders and turned him around.

Damon's eyes were puffed up and swollen. There were some residual tears that were still begging to come out.

"That girl that you saw in the room is not my Elena." He sobbed.

"Damon don't…." Alaric tried to reason with him but Damon stopped him with his hands.

"But I will bring her back Alaric. I will do everything in my power to make her remember. The girl in there is going to remember you, she is going to remember Jeremy, Jenna, Caroline and Bonnie. And she is also going to remember me and my deeds and the reason why she is there." Damon tried to walk away but Alaric stopped him.

"What happens when she gets her memories back?" He asked

Damon turned around and gave him a heart wrenching smile.

"I will leave. I will go away from her life and never come back."

"Why not leave just now? Why are you going through all this trouble? It's not like she even remembers you." Alaric asked again with curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"I owe her that much Alaric. I will get the best doctors in the country. I will give her all the comforts. And when she gets her memories back, I will endure all her anger, her punishments, her hatred and then when she is satisfied with her revenge, I will leave."

Before Alaric could tell what an idiot he was being, they heard Jeremy shouting.

"What the hell do you mean by take her away from here? We can't just pack our bags and leave. And anyways, I don't even have that much money." His face looked flushed. Meredith was trying to say something but he just turned around. His body was trembling, both with fear and anger.

Bonnie was trying to calm him but clearly it was having no effect.

Jenna glanced around the room, searching for Alaric and when she located him, she ran towards him.

"Alaric, the doctor is saying that we should move Elena away from here. Take her away. But how can we do that? We don't have enough money, we can't leave our jobs too." She sobbed on his chest.

Damon came forward to talk to the doctor.

"What is the problem Meredith?" He asked with his ice cold voice again.

"Mr. Salvatore, it's solely for Elena's benefits. Take her away from here, to another place. She will be able to accept her condition more. This is a small town. You can't expect people to not talk. Someone or the other will keep showing on her doorstep trying to talk to her and console her and make her remember." She said with genuine concern oozing from her yes. Apparently, Elena had become one of her favorite patients.

"But I don't have that much money doctor. All of my savings have gone into her treatment. I love my sister very much and I want to make her better but this is costing me too much." Jeremy turned around, looking completely helpless and broke. At the age of 25, he looked like a person in his 40s.

"I will take her away." Damon's word rang and everyone fell silent.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Bonnie screeched.

"What I mean is that Elena and I were already planning to leave for New York. I had already bought a house there. All we had to do was shift. I will take her there and get her treated from the best doctors."

There was silence once again. And then in that silence, Jeremy's laughter boomed.

"You think that I will send my sister to New York with you?" He said between his laughter. "You are the reason she is there, you are the reason that my sister doesn't recognize me and now you think that I will send her to New York alone with you? Do I have the word IDIOT painted on my forehead?" he screamed.

During Jeremy's outburst, Damon looked very calm, as if he was waiting for his yelling.

"Look Jeremy, I love your sister and I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. I need to make her better. And this is the only way. So from where I am standing, you have only 2 choices. One, take Elena back home and let her suffer or two let her come to New York with me and give her best of the best treatments." Damon was all in his businessman mode, his voice oozing with logic and reason. But Alaric knew that behind all his calm façade, he was hurting and breaking just like the rest of them, probably even more.

"You know, Damon is right. Elena gets best doctors and her mind will be diverted from the accident and memory loss. And you heard Meredith right? She doesn't need any pressure on her brain." Alaric said and Damon shot him a thankful glance.

"And we get a free trip to New York on Damon's money. After all, we have to make him pay for what he did to Elena. And if we can't do it figuratively then we can at least do it literally." Caroline jumped with excitement and everybody rolled their eyes.

Jeremy pondered over a few minutes.

"How can I trust you? How will I know that you will not take advantage of my sister's memory loss and make her fall in love with you again and then leave her?" He asked.

"I give you my word Jeremy that I will not go near Elena. I will stick to the introduction that I gave her about myself in the room. For her, I am only Alaric's best friend and nothing more. When she gets her memories back, I will get out of her life as well as yours and you guys will never ever hear from me again." No one missed the pain that crept in his eyes when he said the last sentence.

"Fine then, you can take her to New York. But we all will come with her because for me, you are as good as a lunatic and I don't want to leave my sister with a lunatic." And with that, Caroline gave a very loud scream.

"Oh my freaking God, we are going to New York." She started jumping around like a person high on drugs and everyone in the room gave an annoying sigh.

"Well, it's all set then. I will discharge Elena tomorrow and then she is all yours." Meredith smiled.

"Meredith, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Damon said and Jeremy gave him a suspicious eye.

"Sure. I have an appointment in a few minutes so make it quick." She started walking and he followed her. Once they reached a secluded corner, she turned around.

"Alright Damon, what is it?" she asked.

"I thought you had an appointment?" He looked surprised.

"I do, but it's not right now. I figured you wanted to talk alone so I brought you here." She gave a mischievous smile.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you the best doctor ever? Because that's what I had wanted to say. And I also wanted to know that if Elena would ever get back her memories and please don't sprout doctor bullshit. Just give an honest answer." He said.

Meredith gave a loud sigh and pondered for a few minutes about how to answer him.

"Damon do you know why Elena lost her memories? It's because at one point it became too much for her brain to take the load and so it decided to shut off. Brain is a tricky part of the human body. It does not function according to the will of a man so all I can say to you is be patient and continue to shower her with love. After all, she is your fiancée."

Damon looked up in surprise and saw Meredith giving him a coy smile.

"How did you know?" He asked in a surprised voice.

Meredith put her hands in her pocket and pulled out the ring. The ring that Damon gave to Elena. The ring that showed everyone that Elena was his and no one else's.

"She was wearing this ring when she was brought to the hospital. And I saw the same type of ring on your finger too. I don't know what you did but I can clearly see that you are regretting it. I just hope that you and Elena get your happy ending." She held out the ring to Damon who looked absolutely terrified of touching it. As though he expected it to disappear any moment. But with shaky fingers, he took it from Meredith's palm.

Damon's eyes were filled with gratitude and respect for her. He conveyed a silent thank you and Meredith gave a small nod. She turned around to leave but then suddenly something popped into her mind.

She turned around again and saw Damon caressing the ring softly with tears in his eyes.

"Hey Damon!" she called out and he looked up with furrowed brows.

"You want to know what else I know? I know that Elena loves you too with all her heart. She wouldn't have been wearing the ring if she was planning to leave you. Because when a girl plans to break her engagement, the first thing she does is to throw away the ring that binds her to the commitment. Keep it safely because I am sure you will need it one day." And with that, she walked away.

Damon was now sporting a wide, face-splitting grin. He looked at the ring in his hand again and then at the ring that was on his finger. They were almost identical. With the same lapis lazuli stone and gold rim surrounding it. Except she had initial E on hers and he had D written on his.

Elena had insisted that they get identical rings because she wanted to know everyone that he was hers.

At first, Damon was not to keen because for him, it was all just bet and act but now, he couldn't wait to see the ring back on her finger. It was like his ray of hope.

He turned around the corner with the goofy smile on his face but it soon disappeared when he saw Jeremy standing there.

Damon clutched the ring tightly against his heart as if he was afraid that Jeremy was going to snatch it.

"I hope you remember your promise Damon." He said in a warning tone. "I don't care if she was planning to go back to you and I don't care that now you have started loving her just because she almost fucking died. You will not come into my sister's life again, do you understand?" They were now standing head to head, nose to nose. The only difference was that Jeremy's eyes screamed bloody murder and Damon's eyes were glued to the floor, enlaced with shame.

"I understand." He whispered softly. "I give you my word that I will stay away from your sister."

"You better or else next time you will find yourself buried six feet under the ground." As soon as Jeremy left, Damon fell down on the floor with the ring still clutched in his hand. He was chocking on his own sobs. His heart was burning from inside and he didn't have any medication for that. He wanted to howl and curse the day when he accepted the bet at the top of his voice but he felt as though his vocal cord had frozen.

Minutes, probably hours must have passed when Alaric found his best friend sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, already passed out. His face was stained with dried tears and he was clutching something in his hand very tightly.

"Damon, get up." He tried lifting him but Damon was resisting.

"I killed her. I don't want to live." Alaric heard him mumble.

"I think you need to go home and rest. Come one Damon, wake up."

Alaric saw him slowly opening his eyes. He also noticed that as he was regaining conscious, his grip on something that was between his fingers increased.

"How is Elena?" Damon's voice was very hoarse.

"She is doing okay. But you need to go home and rest a bit."

Damon looked at Alaric as though he had spoken some ancient Hebrew language.

"You are kidding me right? She is in the hospital and you are asking me to go home and rest?"

Alaric rolled his eyes. He knew Damon was going to say something like that.

"Look, Elena is getting discharged tomorrow. And you have to take 6 people to New York with you. And I am sure as hell that these 6 people are not going to pay for their tickets. So you have some heavy arrangements to make. And remember what you promised to Jeremy. You have to stay away from Elena. And you being here right now do not really support your case. So go home, take a nap, get freshen up and be ready for tomorrow." Alaric said while pushing Damon towards the elevator.

"She will be okay right? And you better call me if anything happens or else Jenna would have a task of identifying your body on her hand." He said in a threatening voice.

"Wow Damon, I think I just peed in my pants." Alaric teased and Damon felt like throwing him out of the window.

"I am serious you asshole." He growled.

"I will call you. After all, you are my niece's fiancé who is taking us for a vacation. We can't exactly leave you behind." Alaric said.

"More like ex-fiancé who she will hate forever." Damon murmured.

Alaric sighed and rubbed his face.

"Damon, we were all in the room and we saw how Elena reacted to your presence. I could see the blush on her face and hear her heartbeat increase. She loves you Damon. Her heart still remembers you." He tried to convince him but it was not having any effect.

"But none of it is real Alaric. Don't you get it? She is just attracted to me. Once she starts remembering, she will leave me and….." Damon couldn't even think about it. There was a time when he was contemplating how to leave Elena. And today was the day when he couldn't even think about letting her go.

"We will talk about it later. Now, you go home, take a nap, look dashing again, take out tickets, make arrangements and then forget about my looking dashing comment. It seemed really gay." Damon let out a chuckle but soon he remembered where he was and his smile died.

They heard the sound of elevator opening. Alaric gave him a reassuring smile and Damon wondered how he got such a faithful friend when he didn't even deserve him.

Alaric understood his unspoken thought but refused to comment on it because he knew that nothing would soothe him.

Damon, on the other hand believed that he had lost his love, his soul mate. But he vowed that he would at least become a worthy friend. And with that, he stepped inside the elevator to make arrangements for his new life.

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**DID YOU LIKE THE CHAPTER? PLEASE REVIEW...**


	5. Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

This chapter is for my friend Aditi and her fiance Sanjeev. They proved that love conquers all. Congrats guys.

Thank you everyone for their lovely reviews. I Hope that I will see more Reviews for this chapter.

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Elena opened her eyes slowly, and as soon as she did that, she cursed her actions. She wanted to live in her dreams and forget about the world but now, she was forced to remember that she was just a girl who had lost her memories and didn't even recognize her family members.

She looked at the clock and it showed 7 in the morning. She got up slowly and carefully and headed towards the bathroom. She wanted to wash her face to remove the sleep from her eyes but then suddenly, her legs stopped moving.

Reason?

There was a big mirror hanging above the sink, taunting her cruelly.

She didn't even have the memory of how she looked. She was terrified to step in front of the mirror, as though afraid of seeing a ghost.

_I can't do this… _She thought and then without further thinking, ran away from there.

Her body started hyperventilating and she felt like puking. She was a girl in her early-twenties who was afraid to go in front of the mirror because she didn't even remember how she looked. Tears started falling from her eyes and she couldn't help feeling pathetic.

_How will I continue living like this? _She started sobbing loudly.

And then suddenly, as though someone had answered her question, she heard the door opening. She looked up and saw her blue-eyes stranger looking at her with panicked expression.

"I…I….I am sorry. I didn't know you were awake. I just came in to check on you and I really didn't want to disturb you and why are you crying?" Damon was freaking out the whole time, afraid of what would happen if Jeremy founded out. He just wanted to check on Elena quickly and quietly. But when he noticed her tear-stained face, all his fear flew out the window.

"I can't even look at myself." Elena murmured. She wasn't sure if he wanted to listen about her insecurities.

"What?" Damon came near her and she scooted a little, giving him space and signal to sit beside him.

He hesitated for a few second but seeing her sad and crying burned his heart.

_Let the consequences be damned. _And he sat next to her.

"I went to the bathroom to wash my face." Elena started explaining. "I saw the mirror but couldn't find the strength to go and stand in front of it. I can't even remember my face Damon and now I am afraid to even find out. I am not supposed to be living like this, my family is not supposed to be living like this. They deserve better. My brother is supposed to be enjoying life right now and not worry about hospital bills. Why did this happen to me? Why?"

She buried her face in her right hand and started crying. On the other hand, Damon felt like jumping in front of the moving train or hanging himself from the ceiling. But he had promised himself that he would be strong for her. And now was the time to show it. So, he wiped his own tears and composed himself.

"Elena, listen to me." He called her softly.

He had a soothing effect in it and she found herself staring at his blue hypnotic eyes.

_God, he is so handsome. What is he doing with a girl like me? _

When Damon saw her sad brown eyes, all he wanted to do was wipe her tears and kiss her and make everything better.

_She is so beautiful. I don't even deserve to share same air with her let alone sit next to her._

He snapped out of his speechlessness. He didn't know how to solve her problem so in the end he decided to do one thing.

"Do you want me to describe how you look? If you hear a bit of trailer, I am sure you won't have a problem about seeing rest of the movie then." He smirked and she gave a small chuckle.

She nodded her head and he sighed.

"Well, let's see. You have brown hairs which I think that you obviously know about.

_What you don't know is how soft and silky I find them. I love moving my fingers through them when I kiss you. And when they shine in sunlight, you look like an angel who has come from heaven to make my life all better. But like a bastard, I made yours hell._

Your eyes are chocolate brown. They are really expressive and beautiful.

_They let me look into your soul. They show me how beautiful it is. They sparkled when you used to hide secrets from me and glowed whenever I used to express my love to you even if you never knew that my love was fake at that time. And I loved kissing them every time we made love or every time you cried. But I have lost the power to do that now since I am the reason that you are crying. Please forgive me my love. _

Your skin is olive in color and it is glowing right now.

_And I miss how it felt against me, when you hugged me, when you slept on me, when you moved your legs against me when I used to kiss your stomach. How it glowed every time when we made love. It's like the most expensive satin in the world._

Your nose is really small and really cute.

_And I loved it when you used to scrunch it up while yelling at me in anger or how it puckered when I kissed it or how it turned red when you used to blush. _

Your height is around 5'6 and you are really slim.

_And you fit perfectly against me. You are like a glove to my body. Made only for me. I am sorry that I didn't realize it sooner. I have lost my perfect half and I will never get it back again. But believe me my love, I regret it every day and I would rather spend my life alone than go for somebody else. My body was always yours and it will forever be yours. _

Your lips are very soft and pink.

_And I loved kissing them. I can kiss them all day long and never ever complain. When you pout, it turns me on instantly. When you speak through them, I feel like listening to you every time. When you bite it while thinking something really hard, I feel myself drooling over you. _

And I think that's all I can say."

Elena looked at him with her mouth hanging open. And Damon Salvatore for the first time in his life, felt uncomfortable. He wished he could say what he actually wanted to and show her what she meant to him but he knew that he had lost that opportunity. But now looking at her face, he feared that he had overstepped his boundaries.

"Look I am extremely sorry that I crossed my boundaries. I mean, it wasn't my place to tell. I should have let Jenna, Caroline or…... But before he could complete his sentence, she pounced on him and hugged him tightly.

_Most expensive satin skin? Check._

"Thank you so much." She murmured against his neck. Her hot breath in his ears felt like heaven. He moved his hand to hug her back but suddenly he remembered Jeremy's warning and he restrained himself.

Elena felt him stiffen at the contact and mentally cursed herself for being so forward. She slowly untangled herself from him. They sheepishly moved away from each other and started staring at the floor.

"So, umm….are you ready to see what you look like?" Damon initiated the conversation again.

"Yeah. Will you come with me?" she asked him, trying not to sound too desperate.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I think you should go alone and you know take some time and…" Damon kept on blabbering while Elena kept on staring at him, trying really hard to swallow the drool that was trying to escape from her mouth. Suddenly, her eyes travelled to a shiny thing on his ring finger.

"What's that?" she blurted out unable to restrain it.

Damon's voice suddenly got lost when he saw her examining at his engagement ring intently.

"It's my engagement ring." He said and withdrew his hand from hers.

Elena felt as though someone had punched her in the gut. Her brain stopped working. Her eyes widened and her heart beat almost stopped for a moment.

"You…..you are engaged?" she mumbled. Damon could clearly see and hear shock and disappointment coming from her.

"Yeah." He said trying very hard to control his own tears. His hands automatically moved towards his jacket pocket which held her ring.

_This is the time. Tell her that you are an engaged man and she will stop getting attracted to you._

"Whe…where is your fiancée?" Elena was surprised that she was still in the state to talk.

_She is in the hospital, afraid to even face herself because she can't remember her face. And it's all because of me. _

"She is dead." Damon said as though it was nothing. There was no emotion in his voice.

As for Elena, she almost had to stop herself from giving out a sigh of relief.

_Look at me, getting happy over the fact that his fiancée died. This man is turning me into a monster. _

"I am sorry. When did she die?" she asked carefully, afraid of his reaction.

"Last year, in a car accident." Damon lied. Well, he wasn't exactly lying. Elena was as good as dead to him. So…

"Why are you still wearing the ring then?" Damon could detect jealousy in her voice and the last thing that he wanted was to have Elena fall in love with him again.

So he decided to do what he was best at. Pushing away.

"I don't think it's any of your concern. I loved her and I still love her. There won't be any other for me. So stop your twenty freaking questions." He growled and Elena flinched away from him in shock. Damon felt like his insides were ripping but he braced himself.

"I….I didn't mean to. I am really sorry." She felt her eyes tearing up but she didn't want him to see that. So, she controlled herself. But Damon could see what she was trying to hide. Probably because he was in the same agony.

"Look Elena, I suggest that you get some rest. Your family will be here soon and you are going to have a big day on your hand. Good bye." Damon resisted the urge to kiss her and then quickly left the room.

And Elena fell back on the bed, crying her eyes out. She didn't know why she was crying. It was stupid and idiotic but for some reason, she felt as though her heart was breaking.

"Why am I crying?" She screamed and tried wiping her eyes but the more she tried, the more they came.

"I don't care that he is engaged and I certainly don't care that he is in love with another woman." She reassured herself but it wasn't helping at all. Damon being in love with someone else was like acid being poured all over her body.

"What are you doing to me Damon Salvatore?" She whispered and closed her eyes, only to get haunted by his icy gaze.

As soon as Damon was out of her room, he clasped his mouth shut to swallow his cries. He wanted to kill himself on the spot. He could clearly see the attraction that Elena was having for him but it was not right. For him, it was the biggest crime on the planet.

There was a time when he was trying his level best to make her fall in love with him and today's the day when he is running away from her.

_I don't deserve her, I don't deserve her…_ he kept on chanting to himself while trying to swallow his guilt, tears and anger.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He heard a familiar voice growling behind him and turned around to see a very angry looking Jeremy.

Damon rolled his eyes in frustration. He quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

_Just what I needed._

"I only came to see Elena to make some things clear." Before he could explain anything further, he saw the rest of the gang dragging their bodies, looking like zombies. It reminded him a scene from 'The Dawn Of The Dead'.

"Great, all of you guys are here. So, let me begin my story. Since you all know that Elena is attracted to me and I can't exactly help it, so I decided to spin a lie of my own. I have told Elena that I am engaged but my fiancée died a year ago in a car crash and I still love her and don't want any other woman in my life. So, she will stop pining after me and we will be able to take care of her without having to bother about her attraction for me and when she gets her memories back, she can lash out at me, throw things at me, fight with me, kill me whatever and you won't hear me complaining. And if I stay alive, I will leave and never come back. Is that okay or you guys wanted to add anything else?"

Damon spoke in such a detached voice as though he was discussing just another business contract. But from the insides, his soul was decaying every second. A major portion of life was sucked out of him the night he saw Elena lying on the hospital bed and the rest was sucked out this morning when he saw Elena crying because she was terrified to see herself.

Since the day Elena had found out about his lies, he hadn't even dared to look into the mirror, ashamed of looking into his cheating, deceitful eyes. And he knew that he wouldn't be doing that any time soon.

All the five people were looking at him with their mouths hanging open.

"Damon, I am sure we can….." Alaric tried to make him understand. But Jeremy stepped forward.

"I should say that I am surprised, but I am not. Lying is obviously your forte. Stick with the story Salvatore. We will make sure that Elena stays away from you and you stay away from her. But the minute I see you weaving your Salvatore charm around her, I will take her away, consequences be damned. Got that?" Jeremy poked his finger in his chest and Damon just stood there like a dog, getting scolding from his master.

And Alaric knew that till the time Elena got her memories back, everybody was going to use him like a dog, or like their own personal slave and worst part was, Damon was not even going to protest.

_I hope that she comes back to you buddy. You both deserve better than this._

"Can we now go inside? I came to see Elena, not him." Caroline whined and Alaric could see his best friend trying really hard to keep his tears inside his eyes.

"You guys go ahead; I need to talk with Damon." He said looking at Jenna. She understood him and gave him a tight smile.

As soon as the group left, he turned around and saw Damon looking at him with tired, bored and red eyes.

"Not now Ric. I have had enough and I don't think…" But before Damon could complete his sentence, Alaric walked towards him and enveloped him into a hug. And that made Damon Salvatore speechless for a moment.

_What's with everyone hugging me today? _ He thought.

"I am sorry buddy." Alaric whispered and the tears that Damon was holding broke their barriers and came rushing out.

"She can't even look at the mirror Ric. What should I do?" He sobbed. Alaric released him and gave him a sad smile.

"You are doing everything you can. And it will take time for her to heal. She will have to do this on her own."

"But…."

"Yeah, yeah I have heard it all before. 'I caused the accident, I lied to her, and I betrayed her.' Do you know you sound like a freaking 15 year old when you cry?" Alaric teased rolling his eyes.

And Damon gave out a loud laugh.

"How did I deserve a friend like you?" His eyes were brimming with respect and adoration.

"Well, you did save me from that gay biker dude who was going to have anal sex with me." Alaric said and they both started laughing very loudly at the memory. He was 17 at that time, sipping on his beer that he got through his fake Id. He heard a bit of commotion behind him and saw a bald, overweight and over tattooed man trying to force a scrawny and frightened to death looking kid in a bathroom.

_"What is happening here?" Damon said in a brave voice, although he was feeling nothing like that at the moment. Maybe it was the alcohol. _

_The man turned around and Damon almost thought about running on seeing his piercings_

_"Go back kid. Or else I will throw you out." The man slurred, clearly wasted from drinking. _

_Damon peered over his shoulders and saw another boy, around his own age trembling a bit, trying to get out of his control. He then looked around and saw that the bar was almost deserted. His heart started thumping loudly. _

_"Leave the boy alone." He said in a brave but shaky voice. _

_The man sensed it and gave a dirty smile that made look for a hiding spot. Of course he never admitted to it._

_"You know I never had a threesome. Looks like tonight all my dreams will come true." The man wobbled towards him, leaving the boy behind. _

_Damon started looking around and saw a baseball ball bat in a corner. He didn't dare to move so he gave an eye signal to the boy, which he didn't understand at all. _

_Damon resisted the urge to roll his eye, partly because now was not the time and partly because there was a drunk man coming towards him to stick his pole in his ass._

_Damon tried it again and thankfully the boy's tube light sparked. He moved stealthily towards the bat and grabbed it tightly. _

_"Now!" Damon yelled and the boy struck the confused man on his head. He dropped on the floor in an instant. _

_"Oh my god, I killed a man. I am going to prison, there is no hope for me. My future is finished. I won't be able to marry. I haven't even had sex yet." The boy started wailing and this time, Damon rolled his eyes. _

_"Come on let's go." He grabbed his arms and they got out of the pub. _

_The boy was still shivering and clearly looked in shock. _

_"I am Damon Salvatore." He decided to start with introductions._

_"Al….Alaric Saltzman." The boy squeaked._

_"Are you going to Mystic Falls." He asked while walking towards his car. The boy followed him. _

_"Yeah, Vacation." _

_"I am going there too. I will drop you." Now you have to understand that Damon Salvatore never offered ride to anyone in his beloved car unless it was someone carrying a vagina. Now why he decided to offer him a ride is still a mystery to the world._

_"I have my own car." Alaric smiled._

_"You are almost in the process to pee your pants. I don't think you re fit to drive. Hop on, we will get your car tomorrow." And just like that, Alaric's smile disappeared. _

_And that my friends, is the story beautiful and gothic story of Damon Salvatore and Alaric Saltzman. _

"You were crying so loudly, thinking that you had killed the guy." Damon laughed and Alaric frowned.

"I was not. I was just shaken up a bit. He was coming to rape me for God's sake." He huffed and Damon's laugh increased.

"Jenna and I won't be able to come to New York." Alaric sighed and with that, all the traces of laughter from Damon's face vanished. Alaric mentally cursed himself for opening his mouth at the bad time.

"What do you mean you are not coming?" He looked clearly shocked.

"Look, I tried my best but I can't leave the class and come to New York all of a sudden. Same case with Jenna. It's December right now and the holidays will start soon. We will join you guys then."

Damon gave an understanding smile.

"It's okay. You can't exactly leave everything and move. It's good that you are not coming. I already have enough clowns on my hand to deal with." He said innocently and Alaric punched him the stomach.

"Speaking of work, you do know that it's almost been a month since you went back to yours. You need to take care of your company Damon." Alaric chided him.

"Elena is more important to me than the company. She is my first priority and I will resume working when I get back to New York." He said and Alaric scoffed.

"Yeah, good luck with that. You guys are going to get a great welcome because of the paparazzi. You are a freaking celebrity man."

And at that instant, Damon knew that he had to keep Elena out of limelight. The last thing he needed was to read gossips about her in trashy magazines and channels.

"Wish me luck buddy, because I am going to severely need it." And Alaric gave him a small pat on his back.

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Review pleaseeeeeeeeeee! It will really make my day.


	6. You are my angel

Sorry for not updating soon but I was on vacation in Nepal. The country is really awesome, you guys should really visit it sometime. I love you guys for reviewing the story as well as for following it. It really means a lot. so enjoy the next chapter and i hope you find it good...

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Elena was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the world. But her mind was anything but peaceful. It was screaming and kicking and fighting. Fighting for answers. Like why she had spent the last 20 minutes crying over a man she had just met? Why was her heart bleeding when she found that his heart had already been taken? Why she felt something for him when he was just a stranger to her?

_I loved her and I still love her. There won't be any other for me._

His words were still echoing in her ears and for the millionth time she felt the fresh batch of tears falling from her eyes.

She heard a soft knock on the door and quickly wiped her tears.

_Please let it be Damon. Please let him tell that it was a joke. _She prayed silently.

The door opened and it revealed her new family or rather old family that she had forgotten about. Twice.

She gave them a bright smile which was obviously fake but they didn't need to know about it.

"How are you feeling honey?" Jenna asked while squeezing her hand.

_Like shit. And I don't even know why. Scratch that. I know why but no way in hell I am going to admit it._

"I am good. Still in a recovery mode but good."

"That's good." Jeremy sighed but he looked really nervous. "Doctor Fell said that she will discharge you today."

"That's good right? I mean, I will be able to go home right?" Elena asked. But all she got was a silence, which didn't sound good at all.

"What's wrong guys?" she whispered again. She wasn't sure she was mentally strong enough to take another blow.

Bonnie came forward and sat beside her. She gave her a nervous smile.

"We are not actually going home. We are kind of moving to New York. Doctor Fell said that you need a new environment that won't pressure your fragile brain anymore. Mystic falls is like a really small town. The people will keep on sticking their nose and keep on bothering you."

Elena looked around the room and saw everyone looking at her cautiously like she was soon going to turn into hulk and gobble them up.

"Is the move permanent?" She asked.

"No of course not. It's only for 6 months." Jeremy piped up.

Elena gave out a big sigh and gave a small nod. Their face lightened up like tube lights.

_New York? Holy shit! Can we even afford it? _

"I didn't know that we were that rich." She asked skeptically but Jenna's wide eyes and Jeremy's downcast eyes gave everything away.

"Actually, it's Damon who is paying for all of us." Jenna mumbled and Elena's eyes almost ready to pop out of the socket and roll into the ground.

An uncomfortable silence covered the room, as though everyone had lost their ability to speak.

"How can Damon afford it?" Was Elena's first question.

"Yeah well, that guy may be a first rate jackass but he is also a first class genius." Caroline spoke and Elena could hear a tiny bit of admiration in her voice.

_Hands off blondie! _ Elena glared at her but thankfully no one noticed it.

"What does he do for living?" she asked again, curios to know about the guy that was becoming both her nightmares and her sweet dreams.

"I am the youngest CEO of a successful multi-billionaire company." A velvet voice boomed inside the room and took Elena's breath away. She saw his blue orbs staring intently at hers which of course spiked her heart rate.

_Thank god there are no machines attached to me now._

"Why are you helping me?" She asked, looking at her entangled fingers in her lap.

"Well that's because A, you are Alaric's niece. B, he is my best friend and C, I owe him a lot." Elena saw him looking at his best friend with lots of respect in his eyes and Alaric returned it. She could see how beautiful their friendship was and how lucky they both were to find it.

He turned his eyes back to her again and she swears she could feel him staring at her soul. The heat reached her cheeks and she turned her eyes somewhere else.

"So, umm, thank you for doing this for me. I will forever be grateful to you." She looks at him in the eyes and prays that he will be able to see her gratitude in them. Their eyes locked for a few seconds before their heard Jeremy cough.

"So, I think I should give you all a few heads-up. We are leaving today, most probably in the evening. There are going to be paparazzi waiting for me at the airport. No way in hell you guys are supposed to look at them. When they ask questions you don't reply but just keep on walking. I have already informed my security people about my arrival so they will take care of the rest. And last but no fucking way in hell the least, DO NOT believe in any gossip that you guys find about yourself in the internet or in the magazine. Got it?"

When Damon finished his speech, Elena looked around the room and saw everyone's mouth touching the ground and to her horror, her condition was no different.

"But you are a business man not Johnny fucking Depp." Caroline glared at him.

"I am and I quote 'The most eligible bachelor in America'. And to add, I am better looking than Johnny Depp." Damon smirked and Elena found some drool trying to escape her mouth.

_No shitting. JD has got nothing on this guy. _She thought.

"At what time are we leaving?" Bonnie asked looking really disinterested.

"Whenever you guys are comfortable." Damon shrugged.

"What do you mean by that? You have to buy tickets to travel in the plane and you have to buy them in advance." Jeremy barked at him and she saw Damon tense a bit. Elena didn't like the way her family was treating Damon. The guy was taking them to New York for crying out loud! The least they could do was show some courtesy.

"The plane is mine, so….." Damon said with a downcast eyes. He looked really vulnerable and all she wanted to do was take him in her arms and never let go.

"Of course." Jeremy scoffed and this time when Elena glared at him, no one missed it.

"Okay then, you guys should go and start packing your stuff. I will bring Elena's stuff here. She can use the hospital rest and Meredith can discharge her later on. Okay?" Jenna said and everybody nodded their head. But Elena caught something.

"Wait Jenna, aren't you going?" she asked.

Jenna gave her a sad smile.

"I wish I could sweetie but Alaric and I can't exactly leave work here. It's only a matter of 6 months. We will join you as soon as possible." She patted her shoulders and Elena smiled. But then, another thought hit her.

"What about my college?" she asked.

"I have already talked to the Dean. He understands your situation so you have been given a sabbatical. You can join back when you feel ready." Damon said and she felt overwhelming gratitude and respect flowing from her towards him.

She gave him a shy smile but he didn't return it at all. But this time, it didn't affect her.

"Can I talk to Damon alone? I have to ask him something." She asked without removing her eyes from him. She had a hard time controlling her laugh when she saw his popping out of it's sockets.

"Wha….what?" he stammered.

She rolled her eyes.

_God, this guy is so melodramatic. _

"I am not going to murder you Damon; I just want to talk to you about something." She whined.

Damon glanced around the room and found everyone shooting daggers at him.

He gave Jeremy an innocent I-have –no-hand-in-this look. A few seconds later, Jeremy frowned but gave him a small nod. But along with that, he also gave a look of warning. Damon immediately removed his eyes from him and started looking at the ground.

None of this silent talking escaped from Elena. From where he sat, it looked like Jeremy was dominating and bullying Damon. She knew that her family didn't like Damon at all. All she wanted to know was why.

Everyone murmured her see you soon and exited the room till it was only Damon and her left. Butterflies started fluttering in her stomach again.

_Don't be stupid. The guy loves another woman, you have no fucking chance. _She scolded herself.

They stared at each other for a few minutes like they both were lost in each other's beauty, unable to bring it to justice with their words.

_Why are you doing this to me Elena? I want to go away from you then why are you making this so hard? I am no good for you, I don't even deserve to share same air with you. Stay away from me Elena, please. I can't look at you like this, it's killing me. And knowing that I drove you here, it's killing me more. I want to kill myself Elena but I have to stay strong for you. So please, stay away from me till you get well. Please…_

Damon pleaded silently, his blue eyes conveying all his emotions. He wanted to kiss her as well s run away from her at the same time. The old Damon would have not thought twice about it and pounced on her. Amnesia or no amnesia, he would have taken advantage of her all the same.

But this Damon, he couldn't even dream of doing something like that to Elena or to anyone for that matter. He wouldn't say that Elena changed him. No she didn't. But she gave him reasons to change. She showed him and all he did was walk on it.

_Why are you hiding from me Damon? What have I done wrong? I know that you love someone else but I have become totally helpless. You have become an angel for me. An angel that I have started falling in love with. I know that I don't deserve you. Your life is enough messed up and with me, it will turn into a soap opera. I hope that someday, maybe in next life or something, I will be with you and you will be with me. _

Her brown eyes shined with tears and happiness. A small smile was playing on her lips. But inside that smile, there was also sadness. She couldn't have him. He would never be hers because he was already taken. But she wanted him in her life anyways, be it as a friend or anything. He was already her angel, her savior but he was also her something more. His presence calmed her, soothed her, ignited love and lust inside her at the same time. Hi presence gave her safety, gave her butterflies, and gave her excitement. He was strong but looked vulnerable at the same time, he looked confident but lost at the same time. He drove her crazy but gave her sanity at the same time.

"What is it Elena?" His smooth velvet voice floated in the air.

"Are you lying to me Damon?" She asked and Damon felt electricity flowing through his body. His mind went in overdrive and he lost his capacity to form any coherent sentence.

"w…why are you asking that?" The fear in his eyes was evident and Elena noticed it clearly.

"The dagger eyes and the sarcastic remarks that my family was throwing towards you wasn't exactly subtle. So, want to tell my why?" She prodded again.

_I can do this. I am Damon Salvatore. I am confident, I have suave, I have… oh, who the fuck am I kidding? _

"I don't know. It might be due to the fact that I am better looking than him?" He chuckled but it was laced with nervousness.

Elena wanted to say that he was lying but he looked really uncomfortable an so, she didn't dig into it further.

"Okay. I just wanted to say that I am sorry, for all the hard time that my family is giving you. And thank you for doing all this for me. I just wanted one more favor from you." She said tearing her eyes from him and biting on her lips. Damon had to bite his tongue to suppress his groan.

"Will you help me with the mirror thing? I didn't get a chance to ask anybody else and more than that, I didn't want to ask anybody else. I kind of, wanted to do it with you. Don't take it the wrong way and don't think that in any way I am trying to, you know, trying to, carve a place inside your heart. This is just asking as a friend and will you be my friend? Only friend and nothing else I mean, I will be… And the next thing she heard was Damon's laugh.

_God, I love her. _He thought.

"It's okay, I will help you." He smiled and Elena felt her heartbeat stop. His smile was gorgeous and she found herself staring at him shamelessly.

His small cough brought her back from her smile land and she felt the blush creeping onto her.

"Thank you so much, once again. I don't know how I will be able to repay your kindness in this birth." She gave him watery smile.

_And I don't know how if I will forgive myself in ever._ He thought grimly.

"Come on let's go." He extended his hand and she gladly took it. The moment their skins touched, they both stilled for moment. Elena, because she couldn't believe the connection that she felt towards him and Damon because it had been too long since he had touched her.

He held her carefully and they both walked towards the bathroom slowly, reveling in each other's presence.

"Here we are." He announced once they reached the door. Elena's breath started becoming uneven as if there was monster waiting for her behind that door.

"I can't do this." she closed her eyes in panic and at that instant, she felt his grip tightening on her hands. A wave of calmness washed over her.

"Yes you can. I am not going anywhere." His velvet was all that she needed to give her strength.

_No wonder I fell in love with this man within 2 days. _She giggled.

"What's so funny?" Damon asked. Firecrackers were blowing in his heart because it had been ages since he had heard her giggle. He could have cried at that time due to happiness.

"Nothing. Let's do this." She opened the door slowly and took a step inside.

They walked carefully towards the mirror. As she neared it, she closed her eyes tightly again and again she felt his grip on her tighten. She turned around so that her back was facing the mirror. Damon was standing right in front of her.

"I don't look like a monster right?" She chuckled but Damon sensed the insecurity dripping from her voice.

When she didn't hear anything from him, she opened her eyes carefully and saw him looking at her with such reverence that melted her heart right then and there. The emotions that were playing in his eyes were so powerful that she felt her knees weaken.

"Elena Gilbert, you are the most beautiful and bravest woman that I have ever met. It is my honor to stand next to you." Had it not been his hand, she would have fainted right on the spot.

"And believe me, I know how monsters look like." He took a quick glance at the mirror and his eyes turned cold. This time, it was Elena's hand that tightened on him.

"You are not a monster." Her sweet voice chimed. "You are my angel."

How Damon wished he could have corrected her.

She closed her eyes again and turned towards the mirror slowly.

"Open your eyes." His voice echoed in her ears and she did what he told her to do.

And the sight blew her mind away. They both were standing there, she in the front looking like plane Jane and him looking like better good looking brother of Zeus. It looked as though she was marring his beauty with her presence.

"You are so beautiful." She blurted out like an idiot. Damon stiffened and his hands left hers. Elena wanted to slap herself at that time.

"I….. I didn't mean it like that. I…it was unintentional, I was being stupid." She said in a panicky voice, afraid that he would leave her.

"It's okay. I know I am handsome." Damon smirked cockily and Elena gave out a sigh of relief. Last thing she wanted was to get him upset.

"I wish you would have inherited a bit of modesty along with it." She teased.

"You wound me Miss Gilbert." He frowned placed his hand on his heart and when she laughed, Damon felt like richest, and happiest man on the planet.

Elena turned looked into the mirror once again, basking in the reflection that it showed of her and him. She didn't know why her family didn't like him, why Damon thought himself as a monster, why he didn't want to love anybody else. But what Elena Gilbert knew was that she shared an unbelievable connection with him, a sort of bond which made her fall in love with him in just 2 days. She knew that she had to at least try to win him, to make him fall in love with her too.

Damon on the other hand had become totally speechless. It was the reflection that had snatched away his vocabulary. It was like déjà. This was exactly how he had first met Elena Gilbert, the girl who had stolen his heart.

_"Damn, is this a party or a fucking funeral?" _

_They were standing in front of the bar counter with a glass of bourbon in their hands and scowls on their faces. _

_"Tell me about it." Stefan whined. _

_Every body's eyes were pasted on them. Ladies were looking at them like they were chocolate cakes while men were looking at them like they were trash that should be thrown in the dustbin. _

_"What's with the shit face guys?" Alaric came towards them and grinned widely. _

_The raven haired man gave him a deathly glare._

_"Ric, I didn't leave my multi-billion dollars company to stand here in front of the grannies who are right now looking at me like I am a piece of fucking meat. Where are the chicks?" Damon growled._

_Alaric made a face at him which to Damon's best of knowledge was are-you-insane face._

_"This is a small town party hosted by one of the founding families of the town. If you guys are looking for prostitutes, then I suggest you leave." Alaric said and Damon rolled his eyes. _

_"Whatever, I am through with this monkey drama here. I don't even know what I was thinking coming here 15 days before the wedding." Damon murmured._

_"And you dragged me with you too. I left Teresa to join you in this hell hole." Stefan sighed and Damon gave him a dirty scowl. _

_"Don't talk as though you were going to propose to her. You were going to leave her in another 5 days. I saved you from all the crying and cussing and the other sort of dramas the girls do when you speak the words 'IT'S OVER.' Seriously what part of the words 'it's over' don't they understand?" Damon gave out a mock sigh._

_"I still had 5 days and she had big tits. At least it was better than this nowhereville." Stefan whined. _

_"Oh my god. No wonder every fucking magazine and newspaper calls you 'The Manwhore Bros'. Show some respect to the women guys." Alaric scolded them and the brothers did nothing but roll their eyes._

_"We do show them respect." Damon smirked and looked at his brother._

_"When they are in bed with us." Stefan said and gave a mischievous grin and both the brothers high-fived. Alaric gave out a sigh and slapped his forehead._

_The trio teased and played with each other for a while._

_"Hey Ric, where's the bathroom buddy? Damon asked._

_"It's upstairs.3__rd__ door." He said and resumed his banter with the younger Salvatore._

_Damon walked towards the stairs, dodging all the females that were trying to fall on him 'accidently.'_

_He finally reached the first floor. He had to admit the house looked grand. It wasn't as big as his but still it was grand compared to the town's standard. The Lockwoods. One of the founding members of the dear town mystic Falls. Along with The Gilberts, The Forbes, The Salvatores and The Fells. This was his hometown but his family had moved when he was just 4 years old. Stefan was only 2 at that time. Their mother had died and his father had decided to move to New York. Although he had kept in touch with his roots from time to time, it was Stefan's first time here in 18 years._

_He reached the 3__rd__ door and grabbed the handle only to open it to find something exquisite in front of him._

_"Oh thank god you are here. I thought that you had ditched me. Come on, zip up my dress." _

_The girl with chocolate brown hair, olive toned skin, honey dripping voice, slim and hot body, standing in front of the mirror ordered him. She was wearing a blue dress which made her look like a super freaking model. Her eyes were closed and she was fanning them with her hands. _

_"Caroline, I don't exactly have time to waste. Jenna is getting ready in another room and this Damn mascara won't dry. We have to be downstairs in another 10 minutes." She whined so adorably that Damon had to resist himself to let out a laugh._

_He took slow steps towards the siren. Her silky smooth back was lying bare in front of him. He gulped audibly. _

_"You know you are awfully quite this morning. Did I miss an earthquake or something or did Chase Crawford die?" The girl laughed and Damon's dick got hard on the spot._

_'How the fuck am I turned on with just her laugh?' He thought. _

_With trembling hands, he reached for her zipper. The moment their skins touched, they both gasped simultaneously. The girl's eyes opened and widened immediately. _

_"What the hell." She screamed with her now not so honeyed voice. _

_"Calm down." Damon shouted while she was jumping around throwing cosmetic items at him._

_"Calm down? Who the hell are you?" She screamed again. _

_With great difficulty, Damon caught her hands. She tried resisting but her leg got entangled in her gown and they both fell on the bed nearby, her on top of him. _

_Her scent hit his nostrils immediately and he found himself drowning in it._

_"I am Damon Salvatore." He gave out his trademark smirk and did his eyes thing that made all the girls swoon and faint on the spot. _

_"So?" Yeah, make that most of the girls swoon and faint on the spot. Clearly it wasn't having any effect on her. _

_She tried to get up but fell on the bed again. The culprit? Her gown's bow that had got stuck in his jacket's button._

_"Have patience sweetie. I know that you want to feel me and I will fulfill your wish but let me help you stand up first". The girl's face turned red. What Damon didn't know that it was because of anger and not blush._

_He removed is button and freed her silky bow. The whole time she kept wriggling which of course made Damon more hard than possible._

_As soon as her fabric left his, they both got up._

_"Now, do you want me to pull that zipper up or down? We can have a quickie right now and get to the full show later when this sucky party gets over. Seriously who puts pink and purple balloons in the party? Hello, this is a wedding party and not a 5 year's old birthday." He scoffed and the girl looked at him with amused eyes. _

_Suddenly the door opened and a blonde woman entered the room. _

_"Elena we are getting late. Your aunt is ready and already downstairs. You should come down too, after all, you are the niece and oh my god." Caroline's eyes widened as soon as she saw Damon. He of course gave her his panty dropping smile which made her knees buckle. _

_'Yup, it worked on the Blondie. Now, what's up with this brunette?' He frowned._

_"Did I miss the part in the invitation where it said Zeus was going to attend the party?" Caroline gave out a wolf whistle which made Elena roll her eyes. _

_Damon winked at Caroline and walked towards her sexily. Elena could see some drool escaping from Caroline's mouth. What she didn't notice was, there was some drool escaping from her mouth too._

_"Thanks sweetheart. Now, can I expect you to open your legs for me? Miss Elena here is being a bit difficult." He smirked which made Elena fume._

_"That's enough." She growled. "Caroline, let's go. And stay away from him Care. He is a lunatic and I don't want him anywhere near you. Got that?" she clutched Caroline's arms and the blonde winced. She gave out a tight nod. _

_Damon was standing there, watching all of this in amusement. _

_"You know Elena," he caressed her name as though he was making love to it. "If I didn't know you any better, I would say that you are being jealous and possessive." He smirked and Elena let out a short laugh._

_"Well then it's a good thing that you don't know me. And jealous and possessive for you? Believe me Damon, even if you are the last male on the earth and I am the last female, still then I won't have sex with you to continue the human species and believe me, I love human species." This time, she smirked and Damon stood there speechless._

_She then took Caroline and dragged her downstairs. _

_"Want to place the bet brother?" Damon was so engrossed in his thoughts about his brunette beauty that he didn't even notice when his brother entered the room._

_"What do you mean?" He asked. _

_"I mean that I saw everything. How the girl shrugged you off and how you stood there, looking like fish out of water. I bet that you won't be able to tap her." Stefan grinned and Damon narrowed his eyes at him. _

_"I can and I will tap her. You will see. I have 15 days, it's going to be a cake walk for me." He gave out an evil smirk and rubbed his hands together._

_"Let's raise the challenge, shall we?" Stefan laughed and Damon looked t him skeptically. _

_"What do you mean?" _

_"What I mean is that I know that you will be able to bed her and then leave her, like the rest of the girls. Same old story, same old drama. Do something different this time." Stefan's eyes glowed as though he was thinking something evil._

_"Like what? Anal?" Damon rolled his eyes. _

_"No, you are going to propose to her." Stefan leaned on the nearby wall, with his hands crossed against his chest taking in his brother's reaction which mind you, was not at all good. _

_Damon stood there, with his eyes widened and mouth opened. _

_"Wh…what?" he stammered. "I am not doing that, it's too much."_

_"Why you chicken?" and with that, Stefan made clucking noise which annoyed the hell out of Damon._

_"Fine, but I will need a bit more than 15 days. And no one gets to hear about this bet, not even Alaric. Understand?" he threatened and Stefan made an action of zipping his lips._

_Damon Salvatore had never turned down a bet in his life and he wasn't going to turn this down either but something inside him told him that it wasn't a good idea. He had brushed it off at that time but now when he was standing in front of the mirror with Elena all he wished was to turn back the time and stop himself from committing that stupid mistake because it wasn't worth what he was feeling at this time._

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__Reviews pleaseeeeeee?


	7. Heart of Gold

Sorry for not updating soon. But i have perfect excuse for it. EXAMS!

Thank you to all of those who reviewed the story. And to those who read the story, followed it and Favorited it.

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN...

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Elena was sitting on her hospital bed, looking at her clothes in the bag that Caroline had got for her a few moments ago. They were all very plain and conservative looking. Shirts, T-shirts, Jeans. Even her lingerie screamed 'I am a very good girl' at the top of it's voice.

_Am I a virgin? _

The thought made her really embarrassed. She was 21 years old for God's sake.

The thing is that Elena was trying to figure out what sort of girl she was before the accident and by looking at the clothes, she wondered if her father was a reverend.

Not that she was feeling suddenly slutty but she wasn't feeling like Mandy Moore either.

_Spice up the wardrobe in New York? Check._

She was sure she wouldn't be having any problem in that department when her overactive and over bubbly friend was thinking about nothing but shopping.

Caroline was jumping around the place at the prospect of shopping in the city.

_"Aaaah Elena, think about all the Gucci and the Chanel and the Dior and the Dolce and Gabbana shops that we will come across." Caroline said, with a dream like expression on her face._

_"I am not interested." Elena said while flipping the pages of the Times Magazine. Well, she wasn't exactly flipping the pages, she was only pretending to. Elena didn't want her friend to know that her eyes were glued to the man owning the raven black hair and electric blue eyes and who looked deliciously sinful in a black suit. _

_She had come across the magazine accidently in the cafeteria while practicing her walk and when she saw Damon's picture in the magazine, she had carefully tucked the whole issue in her hospital gown like a freaking teenager stealing photos of her favorite actor. _

_Caroline kept on babbling while Elena kept on caressing his face on the magazine, wishing that she could do it in real life. The Times had dedicated the entire issue to the intelligent and hardworking businessman that was 'Mr. Damon Salvatore.' The article was making her both proud and horny._

_"Elena, I think you should update your wardrobe." _

_"Hmmm."_

_"Your clothes are really old fashioned." _

_"Hmmmmm."_

_"Elena do you want to stay single for the rest of your life?" Caroline voice was on a higher octave this time but that wasn't what caught the brunette's attension._

_"What do you mean? Of course I don't want to stay single." She frowned clutching the magazine tightly against her chest._

_"Then you have to change your wardrobe because with the type of clothes you own, no guy is going to want you. You are going to Big Apple for God's sake. Dress up for the occasion." Caroline said softly._

And since that conversation, all Elena thought was about changing her clothes to make herself more attractive for Damon. She wanted him to notice her, to acknowledge her, to like her, to hold her, to kiss her, to….

She got up from the bed slowly and walked towards the mirror again. This time, the reflection showed only her and she started missing him standing beside her. The picture in front of her was looking a bit empty because he wasn't there to complete it, complete her.

The moment that she had shared with him in the morning was simply perfect. And it got ruined when he got a stupid phone call. At that time, she really had wanted to take his cell and flush it down the toilet as well as kill the person who had invented such an asshole device.

The magazine was still in her hands. She pulled out the page with his head-to-toe photo and threw the magazine onto her bed. Then she grabbed the page and held it against her chest, facing the mirror.

"Damn, even your picture produces butterflies in my stomach." She said to his reflection.

If anyone would have seen her at that time, they would have certainly called the mental institute to get her, but she didn't care. Looking at her, the phrase 'being crazy in love' seemed really true.

"I love you. I know it's really stupid but I have fallen in love with you in just 2 days. I feel an intense sort of connection with you, like I know you. Both inside and outside. I know that you said that you will never love anybody else but your fiancée but I have to try. I have to try to at least make you admit that you feel something for me because I know you do. You feel something for me and I see it in your eyes every time when we are in a same room.

I can't say all this stuff to your face and I can't share it with anyone else too. If I keep it inside me for a long time, I will probably go mad. So I am saying this to your picture like a crazy fan girl." She gave out a soft giggle.

"Thank you for doing everything for me. Thank you for taking care of me and my family. I will never be able to repay you that's for sure, but I promise to love you till the end of the time."

Suddenly, the door opened and Elena turned around abruptly. The paper in her hand fell down.

"Oh, you are here. Did Caroline give you your clothes?"

Elena gave a tight nod, as though her ability to speak had left her.

"What are you doing standing in front of the mirror?" Jenna asked suspiciously.

"I… I was looking at myself." Elena squeaked.

"And what's that piece of paper?"

Elena's eyes shifted down towards the paper. Damon's eyes were staring at her which of course made her squirm. She bent down quickly and threw the paper into the dust bin.

"I was cleaning the mirror while looking at myself." The moment the words left her mouth, all Elena wanted to do was throw herself out of the window.

_I can't believe I am studying journalism in freaking Columbia. What was I thinking? No wonder Jenna is looking at me like I am retarded. I have to do something._

And then suddenly Elena started laughing as though there was no tomorrow.

"It was a joke Jenna. The paper was a waste and nothing else. It was just lying there and I don't even know how it reached there. You know all about papers right? They reach everywhere, without any reason."

_Yeah, I should really stop talking because it looks as though she is ready to call the doctors in any second._

"You have taken your meds right?" Jenna asked.

"Yup." She replied nervously while stealthily moving towards her bed. The issue was still lying on her bed and she didn't exactly want her aunt to know that she was behaving like a creepy stalker.

"So, you have your clothes here. Alaric, Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline and Damon would be joining us in any moment now and…why are you walking like that?" Jenna asked her niece when she saw her walking towards the bed like a woman who had just crapped her pants.

"My…ummm….my legs are paining a lot. So, I am having a bit of trouble in walking." Elena was surprised how the lie had fallen from her mouth so easily. As soon as she reached her bed, she sat on the issue to cover it from Jenna's eyes.

Jenna's eyes widened on hearing her complaint.

"Should I call the doctor? Since when have you been experiencing the pain? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Oh God, why am I still babbling? I should call…"

"Jenna stop it. I am fine now, it was nothing." Elena said, calming her hysterical aunt. It was really funny to watch her getting all riled up but it was also very touching to see that she cared for her.

"I am taking your word for it, but if you feel any sort of discomfort, you will tell me immediately. Got it" she gave her 'the eyes' and Elena quickly nodded her head.

"Good. Now, I am going to see where the rest of the guys are and then we will head out for the airport. Till then, take a rest and don't start cleaning anything else."

As soon as Jenna got out of the room, Elena sprang from her bed and rushed towards the dust bin. She took out the paper and gently caressed it to smoothen the it. She folded it neatly and tucked it into her jacket pocket.

Then she took the issue and put it inside her bag, underneath all her clothes. A smile was constantly pasted on her lips all the time and she was feeling giddy. Her stomach was churning on the prospect of seeing his face again and her legs felt all wobbly. Her heart was beating really fast and her eyes were glistening.

Now if that isn't the sign of love, then I don't know what else is.

* * *

"Have you got the plane ready Lucy...Great and call Raymond. I want him on the airport as soon as we touchdown. Tell him to bring securities with him, I have guests with me and I don't want the reporters hovering around us like animals, got it? And one more thing, tell Jones to update me with all the work from past week. I would like to have a look at them and I will probably come to the office tomorrow. Bye."

As soon as Damon finished barking the instructions to his secretary, he got into the car where all of them were waiting for him impatiently.

"You made all the arrangements?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes." And he replied like a faithful dog.

"Good, because I don't want any drama when we each there."

And Damon nodded his head. He felt Alaric giving him a comforting tap on the shoulder and all he could do was smile. A smile that was of course forced and held no meaning.

The car moved quickly towards his destination, towards Elena.

ELENA…

Had it not been for a phone call, Damon would have probably pushed her on the wall and kissed her. And for that thought only he had been cursing himself the entire time.

_I have to be more careful around her. I can't act stupidly like a love sick fool. I made a promise to Jeremy to stay away from her. _ _Stupid, stupid Damon. _He scolded himself for the millionth time again.

He had already hurt her and last thing he wanted was to have her falling in love with him and then getting her heart broken away again.

He was a monster and he didn't belong in her life. She was better off without him.

But what Damon didn't know was that destiny had planned something else for them and it wasn't his choice to make whether Elena stayed in his life or not…

As soon as they reached the hospital, Damon took a deep breath to calm his nerves and control his heart which was beating frantically because of Elena.

"So, I will talk to Meredith and get Elena's discharge papers. You guys can get her. Right now, it's 1:00 pm. If everything goes on time, we will reach airport at 1:45 and then it will approximately take 4-5 hours for us to reach New York." Damon said but apparently, no one was interested in listening.

Caroline was blowing her bubble gum, Jeremy was busy on his cell and Bonnie was busy giving him dagger eyes. Only Alaric was the one that gave him a sympathetic look.

Damon gave out an exasperated sigh and started walking towards the hospital. And that, everyone got.

* * *

"So, she is safe to fly right? I mean won't there be any complications?" Damon asked the doctor for the millionth time.

"No Damon, she is safe to fly. And it's not like she is flying commercial. You own a private plane for crying out loud." And Meredith replied for the millionth time as she rolled her eyes.

Damon let out a chuckle.

"I really do wish that everything works out for both of you. And the next time I see you, I see you with Elena standing next to you." She smiled and Damon scoffed.

"Believe me, it will take one hell of a miracle for that to happen. And last time I checked, miracles didn't happen. And before you give the example of a mother giving birth to a baby let me tell you that it's not miracle. The term I would use is S-E-X." Damon smirked and Meredith shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't even know how Elena tolerated you." She sighed.

"Well, I did you use my miracle on her every night and she used to give me high pitched squeals and moans to show her gratitude."

And with that, Meredith pushed Damon out of her cabin.

"When Elena gets her memories back, I will advice her to practice abstinence." Meredith grinned.

Damon was feeling a lot of gratitude and respect for the doctor standing in front of him because in the time of need it was Alaric and her who helped him to maintain his sanity, giving him hopes and strength to live for her.

Damon Salvatore was never the one to believe in reincarnations but right now, all he wanted was to have another birth because he didn't know how he was going to repay Alaric, Meredith and his Elena.

Damon lunged forward and hugged the doctor tightly. Meredith understood him and hugged him back.

"Thank you." He murmured softly in her ears.

"Don't worry Damon. Everything will be okay. Have patience and faith in your love because never in the history of love has 2 souls been kept apart." She whispered back in his ears.

Damon knew that no way in hell it was going to be true but when he released her, he desperately prayed for a miracle to happen.

* * *

"So, we are going to New York." Elena looked at her family members awkwardly. The fact was that she was waiting for Damon. Alaric had said that he had gone to meet Dr. Fell but he had been gone for quite some time, something that didn't sit well with Elena.

"You can have your shout now Caroline. I know you are dying to shake your vocal cords." Jeremy said and the next thing she heard was a loud and obnoxiously irritating high pitched sound.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I still can't believe that we are going to New York. It was always my dream to visit the big apple and now it's finally coming true." Caroline said with a dream like expression on her face.

"All thanks to Damon." Elena said and the dream like expression vanished. It became more of a nightmare like expression. The scowl that Caroline was wearing on her face wasn't exactly subtle. And that made Elena's inside churn due to anger.

Before she could speak her mind, the door flew open and her blue-eyed stranger walked. His scent reached her nose and it immediately calmed her insides but as soon as she drank his sight, the calmness vanished. He looked absolutely sinful in his formal white shirt, black pants and black suit jacket. He looked like a CEO of a successful company. He looked mature which of course made Elena's mouth water and her body squirm.

"Everyone ready?" He asked, looking at Jeremy but all her brother gave him was a curt nod.

"I don't even know how to thank you for doing this." Elena said with all the gratitude and respect she could muster up for the beautiful man that was standing in front of her.

Damon gave a beautiful smile and she could feel her heartbeat stop for a moment.

"No problem. Believe me, it's for pure selfish reason. This way, I will be able to repay Alaric for all that he has done for me and I will be able to kick him out of my life." He winked at his best friend and Alaric, like a real mature person he is, stuck out his tongue at him.

Elena was trying really hard to keep her laughter inside.

"Can we leave, or do you want to continue this bromance stuff?" She saw Jeremy glancing at Damon and just like that, his smile disappeared. Pain and anger seeped in her heart because it was really rare to see her raven man smile and now, because of her brother, she couldn't even revel in that moment.

"Sorry. I will take the bags." He said acting like a freaking servant and that made Elena angrier.

"No need. They will carry their own bags. You are not a bell boy. And I want every one of you to speak with respect. The daggers eyes that you guys were giving him were not exactly hidden from me.

He does not know me but still he is doing so much for us, the least you people can do is treat him with some respect. " She said giving mean eyes to everyone in the room and fortunately, no one dared to argue.

One by one, they picked their own luggage and left the room. She then turned towards Damon and the view knocked the oxygen out of her lungs.

He was looking at her with such a pained expression that she felt her heart tearing instantly. She could see that he was trying his best not to cry but the moisture in his eyes said something else.

His jaws had hardened and his hands were flexed. It looked as though he was trying his best not let himself fall in front of her and break down.

"Why?" His sounded really heavy, probably because it was laced with sorrow and anger at the same time.

She understood his question.

_Why did you take my side?_

_Why did you fight with your family over me?_

She had only one answer to it. And it was a four lettered word. LOVE.

She decided it was now or never. _Carpe Diem. _

With a shy smile ghosting over her lips, she started walking towards him. She came really close to him and when she felt him walk away, she took his hands in hers.

His blue eyes that earlier held pain, were now sheltering confusion and panic.

His expression almost made her change her mind but she had to do it.

"Because I love you." She said and before she could get more words out of her mouth, he left. He left without saying anything. And that really broke her heart…..

"Why Elena?" she heard his voice again. She looked up and saw him standing there with the same pained expression and she found herself sitting o the bed. It took a few seconds for to understand that she was imagining it, imagining the whole scene.

_Go and tell him. _The voice inside her begged but the rational side of her brain scolded her for even thinking about it.

She got up from the bed and walked towards him. When she came close, he tried walking away, just like her imagination but she took his hands in hers and his expression changed to confusion and fear, just like her imagination.

"It's because you are a good man. I don't know why my family hates you, why they treat you like you are below them but when I see you, all I see is a man with heart of gold and someday, I hope, the others see him too."

It wasn't as good as 'I love you' but it was close enough because it was the truth. The truth that Elena was not afraid to share with him, the truth that Damon was not willing to face because he thought otherwise.

Elena didn't confess her love for him not because she wasn't ready or she was afraid. It was because he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to hear those words from her because for some reason, he didn't consider himself worthy of it.

He is freaking Damon Salvatore, the youngest CEO and one of the richest men. He is beyond handsome and is very intelligent. But still for some reason, he behaved like a person with no dignity in front of her family and she didn't understand why. But she had to find out, she had to know and more than that, she had to make him love himself before she could ask him to love her.

And that was Elena Gilbert's main agenda for the next 6 month…..

* * *

Thank you for reading.

Review pleaseeee...


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